RUHM VON HORSTENSTEIN. S. A Lilac that produces blooms of the 
Sreatest size even on small bushes set out but two years. It is an even 
toned light red-purple. One of those self colors everyone likes. 
People marvel at the immense blooms of this variety on bushes not 
more than 4 feet high. Bloom so profuse some years as to almost 
hide the foliage. 2 to 3 ft., $3.00; 3 to 4 ft., $4.00 
SOUV. de LUDWIG SPAETH. S. Red. Although one of the oldest of 
the improved Lilacs still it is one of the very best Lilacs grown. It 
seems impossible to get a red that has so many good, and so few bad 
qualities as Ludwig Spaeth. Panicles long and held erect well out from 
the foliage. Color a brilliant intense rich purple-red, that holds up 
well in the sun and lasts a long time. Bush large and a very profuse 
bloomer. A wonderful Lilac. 2 to 3 ft., $1.50; 3 to 4 ft., $2.00 
STADTGARTNER ROTHPLETZ. D. An upright growing shrub with 
long, cone-shaped panicles. A rich red-purple. Until recently Charles 
Joly has been our only good double red. We have in Stadtgartner 
Rothpletz another fine red, giving bloom later than Charles Joly. 
2 to 3 ft., $3.00; 3 to 4 ft., $3.50 
THUNBERG. D. Very large, long, slender spikes, generally two to the 
panicle. Buds and reverse of florets a violet-mauve with a reddish 
appearance from a distance. Florets are large; open a light lilac, twist- 
ing and turning as they open, so that the color of the bud is inter- 
mingled with that of the inside of the petals, making a very striking 
Lilac. Late. 2 to 3 ft., $2.50; 3 to 4 ft., $3.50; 4 to 5 ft., $4.00 
VESTALE. S. One of the best and most graceful of all the single whites. 
Trusses very large at base, tapering gracefully to a point, making a 
true cone. Pure rich white. Will satisfy the most exacting. Many 
people admire very much the single white Lilac. Vestale is as fine a 
single white as can be found. Very graceful as a cut flower. 
2 to 3 ft., $2.50; 3 to 4 ft., $3.50; 4 to 5 ft., $4.50 
VOLCAN. S. As near a true deep red as we have. Panicles which are 
very long, large, and shapely, come up well above the foliage. These 
panicles look rather open as they are in the bud stage but as they 
develop they open into one of the finest, most shapely, and attractive 
of all the red Lilacs. It is the latest of all the red-purples. 
2 to 3 ft., $2.50; 3 to 4 ft., £3.00 
WALDECK-ROUSSEAU. D. A tall growing variety with enormous 
panicles of a light rose color. The buds are a deep pink with the open 
florets fading to a deep violet with a white center. The florets are very 
double and the panicles unusually large. A fascinating variety. 
2 to 3 ft., $1.50; 3 to 4 ft., $2.00 
WILLIAM ROBINSON. D. Invariably well liked; always chosen as one 
of the best. Very compact panicles, almost round. When florets are 
about to open, the bloom gives a very striking pinkish red effect which 
gives place to a lavender as the florets fully open and their reverse 
side turns back. Very much admired. 
2 to 3 ft., $1.50; 3 to 4 ft., $2.00 
Lilac Descriptions 
Many of the peculiarities of any variety of Lilac are easily described. One 
can tell at a glance whether the florets are single, semi-double, or double, or 
whether the panicles are simple or compound, long or short, loose or compact. 




But when it comes to color probably no two persons would name exactly 
alike the colors of any dozen varieties of Lilacs. 
A little explanation may help to interpret our descriptions. When we say a 
Lilac is red, we do not mean that it is scarlet; or, when we say it is blue, we 
do not mean sky-blue, as an occasional customer seems to expect. The truth is, 
the colors of all Lilacs are soft. They are made up of different proportions of 
blue and red with more or less addition of white. If the red predominates in 
the light shades, we may call the color pink or rose. If the blue prdeominates 
decidedly, we may call the color blue; but if the blue while dominant is less 
pronounced we may call it lavender or lilac or violet or mauve. 











In the dark colors, if the red predominates decidedly we may call it red, as 
with Reaumur. If the blue predominates we call it purple. Then to be more 
definite we sometimes say reddish purple or purplish red. 
It must be remembered also that, aside from the difficulty of getting an exact 
name for the normal color of a variety, this color may change somewhat with 
the season. For example, this year we had cool, cloudy, and rainy weather 
throughout the Lilac season. Consequently, the colors were all darker than 
usual. The character of the soil also sometimes changes the color slightly. 
We make our descriptions as clear as we can, but we understand how difficult 
it is for a purchaser who cannot visit a Lilac field during the blooming season 
to make his selection. However, we list only good varieties, those that should 
give much pleasure to those who plant them. 
[9] 

A Lilac Bargain | 
eeany ' 
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The Beautiful Lilac, THUNBERG 
This is one of the latest to bloom of all the French Lilacs. Last year we 
had an unusually large stock of this variety and we did not sell all of them. 
They grew on this season into the finest lot of 4 to 5 and 5 to 6 ft. bushes 
that we ever saw, without any exception. Many of these bushes bloomed this 
season and all of them would have flowered in 1945 had they not been disturbed 
in digging. However, they should bloom in 1946. These thrifty, upright 
bushes are a joy to the eyes of a Lilac lover. 
Great Strong, 4 to 5 ft. Bushes, $4.00 
5 to 6 ft. Bushes, $5.00 
Why Lilacs May Fail to Bloom 
We are asked a number of times during the course of the year, ‘‘Why do my Lilacs 
fail to bloom?”” 
It is impossible to answer this question satisfactorily by letter. There are a number 
of reasons why Lilacs fail to bloom. We cannot tell which special reason is applicable 
in each individual case. We are giving a number of causes in this catalog and leaving 
you to decide which of these fit your individual problem. 
We have no difficulty here at the nursery. Our plants are loaded with flowers each 
year and if your plants are not giving satisfactory bloom, some one of the following 
causes must be responsible. 
1. Your plants may not have been handled carefully enough when you made your 
planting. The roots may have been exposed to the air and some of the vitality of the 
plant weakened. A bundle of Lilacs comes to you and this bundle is often opened up 
and the plants separated and looked over. Then they are laid out in the sun or shade 
while the holes for them are dug and the planting goes on, The plants grow but they 
received a setback from this exposure of the roots and it often takes 2 or 3 years to 
overcome this mistreatment. 
2. It may be the roots were not spread out carefully and soil packed tightly about 
them at planting time. The roots may have become jammed in a cramped and twisted 
mass in the hole, and growth stunted. In filling in the hole dry dirt may have been 
pulled in over the roots and so reduced the vitality of the plant as to check its right 
growth for several years. 
3. The young plant may be planted so close to trees or larger shrubs as to rob it 
of much of its vitality, 
4. It may be in too much shade or in dry gravelly soil. Lilacs like a rich heavy 
soil but not a wet acid soil. 
5. It may be your plants are making altogether too much growth and that such 
growth needs checking. Or they may have formed a great mass of heavy branches from 
the ground with a tremendous branchy top growth and have reached a point where 
they have stopped going forward and produce no bloom. If your plants are making a 
very rapid growth, sending out long new shoots with no bloom, go through your plants 
about the middle of June and trim out about one-half of the new growths back to the 
old wood. This will have a tendency to cause blooming buds to set on the balance of 
the new growth for the next year. If your bushes have a great many branches from the 
ground and many short top branches go through your plants in March in the north or 
earlier in the south (before the sap starts) and cut out about one-half of the old 
branches to the ground. This will cause a new growth which no doubt will bring the 
plant into heavy blooming. 
Now any of the foregoing causes might be the reason your Lilacs are not blooming. 
You are in a position to analyze your difficulty much better than we. We have no 
further information to offer. 
